Headlines (Campus Updates)

Laurier students preparing for summer internship in Ghana

As Laurier students return from winter holidays, seven students are thinking ahead to their summer internship in Ghana.

The students selected to participate in 60-day internships with Ghanaian non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are Brianna DaSilva, Sikander Panag, Christine Wildman, and Sarah Yoder, from the Brantford campus and Lisa Christmas, Krystal Gies and Cheyenne Goolcharan from Laurier’s Waterloo campus.

“This program is a great opportunity for students to put Laurier’s belief in ‘Inspiring Lives of Leadership and Purpose’ into action,” said Andrew Robinson, program coordinator for the Human Rights & Human Diversity program. “The program has many beneficiaries: the interns get great practical experience that will help them launch their careers; the NGOs get the assistance of some very motivated young people; and, when they return in the fall, the interns contribute to the internationalization of other students’ university experiences by making presentations about their time in Ghana.”

To be eligible, students must be enrolled in third or fourth year, have a minimum GPA of 7.0 at the time of application, and be returning to Laurier the next fall.

Sikander Panag, an honours Leadership student, and Krystal Gies, an honours Global Studies student will be working with IN Network – Ghana, a Christian organization that is part of the international needs network in 38 countries around the world. IN Network’s projects include: vocational skills training, child development and education, HIV/AIDS education, community farming and enterprise development.

Sarah Yoder, an honours student in Human Rights & Human Diversity and Leadership, and Cheyenne Goolcharan, an honours Global Studies student will complete their internship at Commission on Human Rights & Administrative Justice, a government agency with branches all over the country and the responsibility to advance human rights. In the past, the Laurier students have worked out of the head office in Accra, and have worked in public relations roles, completing tasks such as media monitoring.

Brianna DaSilva, an honours Human Rights & Human Diversity and Youth and Children’s Studies student, Christine Wildman, an honours Human Rights & Human Diversity student, and Lisa Christmas, an honours Global Studies student will work with the Human Rights Advocacy Centre (HRAC), one of Ghana’s leading human rights advocacy organizations. The previous intern with the HRAC worked with the communications team on a gender-based violence budget report, an access-to-justice report, a communications audit, press releases and monthly communications plans.

This will be the third time Laurier students participate in internships in Ghana. Internships in 2012 and 2013 were funded by the Canadian International Development Agency through the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada. Funding for the 2014 internships is provided by Laurier’s Office of the Assistant Vice-President: Academic Services.

Participating students receive funding to help cover costs and participate in pre-departure training, enroll in a directed-study course, and upon return participate in de-briefing and public-engagement activities.

For further information about the internships, please contact Sheri Gibbings, assistant professor, Global Studies at sgibbings@wlu.ca or
519.884.0710 ext. 2362.